Lam rim chen mo

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ལམ་རིམ་ཆེན་མོ།
lam rim chen mo
The Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment
Text


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Description

Lam rim chen mo. In Tibetan, "Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path"; the abbreviated title for one of the best-known works on Buddhist thought and practice in Tibet, composed by the Tibetan luminary Tsong khapa Blo bzang Grags pa in 1402 at the central Tibetan monastery of Rwa sgreng. A lengthy treatise belonging to the lam rim, or stages of the path, genre of Tibetan Buddhist literature, the Lam rim chen mo takes its inspiration from numerous earlier writings, most notably the Bodhipathapradīpa ("Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment") by the eleventh-century Bengali master Atiśa Dīpaṃkaraśrījñāna. It is the most extensive treatment of three principal stages that Tsong kha pa composed. The others include (1) the Lam rim chung ba ("Short Treatise on the Stages of the Path"), also called the Lam rim 'bring ba ('"Intermediate Treatise on the States of the Path") and (2) the Lam rim bsdus don ("Concise Meaning of the Stages of the Path"), occasionally also referred to as the Lam rim chung ngu ("Brief Stages of the Path"). The latter text, which records Tsong kha pa's own realization of the path in verse form, is also referred to as the Lam rim nyams mgur ma ("Song of Experience of the Stages of the Path"). The Lam rim chen mo is a highly detailed and often technical treatise presenting a comprehensive and synthetic overview of the path to buddhahood. It draws, often at length, upon a wide range of scriptural sources including the Sūtra and śāstra literature of both the hīnayāna and Mahāyāna; Tsong kha pa treats tantric practice in a separate work. The text is organized under the rubric of the three levels of spiritual predilection, personified as "the three individuals" (skyes bu gsum): the beings of small capacity, who engage in religious practice in order to gain a favorable rebirth in their next lifetime; the beings of intermediate capacity, who seek liberation from rebirth for themselves as an arhat; and the beings of great capacity, who seek to liberate all beings in the universe from suffering and thus follow the bodhisattva path to buddhahood. Tsong kha pa's text does not lay out all the practices of these three types of persons but rather those practices essential to the bodhisattva path that are held in common by persons of small and intermediate capacity, such as the practice of refuge (śaraṇa) and contemplation of the uncertainty of the time of death. The text includes extended discussions of topics such as relying on a spiritual master, the development of bodhicitta, and the six perfections (pāramitā). The last section of the text, sometimes regarded as a separate work, deals at length with the nature of serenity (śamatha) and insight (vipaśyanā); Tsong kha pa's discussion of insight here represents one of his most important expositions of emptiness (śūnyatā). Primarily devoted to exoteric Mahāyāna doctrine, the text concludes with a brief reference to Vajrayāna and the practice of tantra, a subject discussed at length by Tsong kha pa in a separate work, the Sngags rim chen mo ("Stages of the Path of Mantra"). The Lam rim chen mo's full title is Skyes bu gsum gyi rnyams su blang ba'i rim pa thams cad tshang bar ston pa'i byang chub lam gyi rim pa. (Source: "Lam rim chen mo." In The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism, 465-66. Princeton University Press, 2014. http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt46n41q.27.)
Reference
Tsong kha pa (ཙོང་ཁ་པ་). lam rim chen mo [ལམ་རིམ་ཆེན་མོ།]. [The Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment].

Recensions

Lam rim chen mo. (The Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment). Recension information:
Tibetan Tsong kha pa. ལམ་རིམ་ཆེན་མོ། (Lam rim chen mo).
  • In Gsung 'bum/ tsong kha pa (Zhol par khang): The Collected Works of the Incomparable Lord Tsong kha pa Blo bzang grags pa, Vol. 13: 39-1084. New Delhi: Mongolian Lama Guru Deva, 1978-1979. Buda by BDRC Logo.jpg
  • In Gsung 'bum/ tsong kha pa (Sku 'bum par ma), Vol. 13: 7-1044. Sku 'bum: Sku 'bum byams pa gling, 199?. Buda by BDRC Logo.jpg
  • In Gsung 'bum/ tsong kha pa (Bla brang par ma), Vol. 13: 5-1026. Bla brang: Bla brang bkra shis 'khyil, 199?. Buda by BDRC Logo.jpg
  • In Byang chub lam rim che ba. Scanned at the National Library of Mongolia.Buda by BDRC Logo.jpg
  • In Byang chub lam rim che ba. Bla brang: Bla brang bkra shis 'khyil par khang, n.d. Buda by BDRC Logo.jpg
  • In Lam rim chen mo. Khri ngag dbang chos 'phel. Buda by BDRC Logo.jpg
  • In Dpal mnyam med ri bo dge ldan pa'i gsung rab nying bcud phyogs bsgrigs rin chen nor bu'i phreng ba, Vol. 13: 1-900. Zi Ling: Mtsho sngon mi rigs dpe skrun khang, 2011. Buda by BDRC Logo.jpg
  • In Byang chub lam rim chen mo. Gser rta dzong: Gser thang bla rung lnga rig nang bstan slob gling. Buda by BDRC Logo.jpg
  • In Lam rim chen mo. New Jersey: Bslab gsum bshad sgrub gling chos tshogs, 2016. Buda by BDRC Logo.jpg
Interconnections
All 22Books 19Articles 1Classical Works 2
3 Full translations
TheGreatTreatiseOnTheStagesOfThePathToEnlightenmentVolume1-front.jpg
Books2000About this item
The Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment (Tib. Lam rim chen mo) is one of the brightest jewels in the world’s treasury of sacred literature. The author, Tsong-kha-pa, completed it in 1402, and it soon became one of the most renowned works of spiritual practice and philosophy in the world of Tibetan Buddhism. Because it condenses all the exoteric sūtra scriptures into a meditation manual that is easy to understand, scholars and practitioners rely on its authoritative presentation as a gateway that leads to a full understanding of the Buddha’s teachings.

Tsong-kha-pa took great pains to base his insights on classical Indian Buddhist literature, illustrating his points with classical citations as well as with sayings of the masters of the earlier Kadampa tradition. In this way the text demonstrates clearly how Tibetan Buddhism carefully preserved and developed the Indian Buddhist traditions.

This first of three volumes covers all the practices that are prerequisite for developing the spirit of enlightenment (bodhicitta). (Source: Shambhala Publications)
TheGreatTreatiseOnTheStagesOfThePathToEnlightenmentVolume2-front.jpg
Books2000About this item
The Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment (Tib. Lam rim chen mo) is one of the brightest jewels in the world’s treasury of sacred literature. The author, Tsong-kha-pa, completed it in 1402, and it soon became one of the most renowned works of spiritual practice and philosophy in the world of Tibetan Buddhism. Because it condenses all the exoteric sūtra scriptures into a meditation manual that is easy to understand, scholars and practitioners rely on its authoritative presentation as a gateway that leads to a full understanding of the Buddha’s teachings.

Tsong-kha-pa took great pains to base his insights on classical Indian Buddhist literature, illustrating his points with classical citations as well as with sayings of the masters of the earlier Kadampa tradition. In this way the text demonstrates clearly how Tibetan Buddhism carefully preserved and developed the Indian Buddhist traditions.

This second of three volumes covers the deeds of the bodhisattvas, as well as how to train in the six perfections. (Source: Shambhala Publications)
TheGreatTreatiseOnTheStagesOfThePathToEnlightenmentVolume3-front.jpg
Books2000About this item
The Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment (Tib. Lam rim chen mo) is one of the brightest jewels in the world’s treasury of sacred literature. The author, Tsong-kha-pa, completed it in 1402, and it soon became one of the most renowned works of spiritual practice and philosophy in the world of Tibetan Buddhism. Because it condenses all the exoteric sūtra scriptures into a meditation manual that is easy to understand, scholars and practitioners rely on its authoritative presentation as a gateway that leads to a full understanding of the Buddha’s teachings.

Tsong-kha-pa took great pains to base his insights on classical Indian Buddhist literature, illustrating his points with classical citations as well as with sayings of the masters of the earlier Kadampa tradition. In this way the text demonstrates clearly how Tibetan Buddhism carefully preserved and developed the Indian Buddhist traditions.

This third and final volume contains a presentation of the two most important topics in the work: meditative serenity (śamatha) and supramundane insight into the nature of reality (vipaśyanā). (Source: Shambhala Publications)
2 Classical commentaries
Dalai Lama 3rd HAR.jpg
Classical WorksAbout this item
Essence of Refined Gold is one of the Third Dalai Lama's most popular written works. It extracts the heart of Lama Tsongkhapa's Great Exposition of the Stages on the Spiritual Path. Although brief, it summarizes the meaning of all Buddha's teachings and is easily put into practice. (Source: The Path to Enlightenment, preface)
Pabongkha-Wikipedia.jpg
Classical WorksAbout this item
Liberation in the Palm of One's Hand (Lam rim rnam grol lag bcangs), spoken by Pabongka Rinpoche (Skyabs rje pha bong kha bde chen snying pos gsung), compiled by Trijang Rinpoche (Skyabs rje yongs ‘dzin khri byang rin po ches phyogs bsgrigs mdzad.
1 Modern commentaries
Steps on the Path to Enlightenment, Vol. 3-front.jpg
Books2008About this item
Geshe Lhundub Sopa's Steps on the Path to Enlightenment is a landmark commentary on what is perhaps the most elaborate and elegant Tibetan presentation of the Buddhist path, Tsongkhapa's monumental Lamrim Chenmo. In this third volume of five, readers are acquainted with the bodhisattva's path and the altruistic desire to make service to others the driving force of spiritual development.

It begins with an explanation of what distinguishes the Mahayana practitioner from other Buddhists and goes on to describe the nature of bodhichitta. Geshe Sopa then provides a detailed commentary on the two methods to develop this awakening attitude: the techniques of sevenfold cause-and-effect and exchanging self and other.

While bodhichitta's significance in Mahayana Buddhism is universally known, Geshe Sopa illustrates how bodhichitta can motivate a devoted practitioner toward complete enlightenment and how this is accomplished through the performance of the bodhisattva perfections. Whether engaged in a scholarly study or personal practice of the Lamrim Chenmo, Geshe Sopa's guiding voice leads readers to a deeper understanding and appreciation of the bodhisattva way. (Source: Wisdom Publications)
1 Partial translations
Calming the Mind and Discerning the Real-front.jpg
Books1978About this item
Lam rim Chen mo (roughly, "the great book on stages of the path to enlightenment") is the abbreviated title of a massive encyclopaedic manual written by Tson-kha-pa, the founder of the Gelukpa sect of Tibetan Buddhism. Calming the Mind and Discerning the Real marks the first appearance in English of the two most important segments of this work. (Source Accessed Oct 14, 2025)
1 Teachings
Achieving Bodhichitta-front.jpg
Books1999About this item
Achieving Bodhichitta is a compilation of oral teachings given in the 1980s by Sermey Khensur Lobsang Tharchin on the two methods of achieving bodhichitta—the Sevenfold Instruction on Cause and Effect and Equality and Exchange Between Self and Others. These two instructions are presented according to the unique system established by Je Tsongkapa, which combines them into an eleven-step method of practice. This book includes a concise yet thorough presentation of the instruction for achieving calm abiding (shamatha) based on the explanations found in Je Tsongkapa's Great Exposition on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment (Lamrim Chenmo). (Source Accessed Jan 7, 2025)
3 Works containing teachings
Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand 1997-front.jpg
Books1997About this item
Pabongka Rinpoche was one the twentieth century’s most charismatic and revered Tibetan lamas, and in Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand we can see why. In this famous twenty-four-day teaching on the lamrim, or stages of the path, Pabongka Rinpoche weaves together lively stories and quotations with frank observations and practical advice to move readers step by step along the journey to buddhahood. When his student Trijang Rinpoche first edited and published these teachings in Tibetan, an instant classic was born. (Source: Wisdom Publications). This book contains teachings based on Lam rim rnam grol lag bcangs and translations of three other texts including Tsongkhapa's The Three Fundamentals of the Path and a commentary on The Seven-point Mind Training by Gyalse Tokme Zangpo.
Path to Enlightenment in Tibetan Buddhism-front.png
Books1993About this item
Enlightenment is the ultimate development of the potential of our mind, a state of peace and bliss that can be of great benefit to oneself and others.

Drawing from the sutras and great Buddhist classics, the Path to Enlightenment combines the intellectual rigour of Tibetan scholars with a clear and easy to understand presentation of the progressive stages of spiritual development. It covers the full breadth and depth of Tibetan Buddhist philosophy with clear explanations of how to put it into practice.

The Path to Enlightenment is an anthology of Geshe Acharya Thubten Loden’s teachings drawn primarily from Je Tsong Khapa's Great Exposition of the Stages of the Path and Phabongkha Rinpoche's Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand. It also includes a translation and explanation of the Mind Training in Seven Points by Geshe Chekawa and a complete presentation of the Bodhisattva vows.

The Path to Enlightenment includes full colour plates, 26 line drawings, a comprehensive English, Tibetan and Sanskrit glossary, a page numbered outline and an 82 page appendix of quotations.

“The book will go a long way towards making the essential instructions of Tibetan Buddhism accessible to a wider readership…” – His Holiness the Dalai Lama

Hardcover, 1097 pages, 4 colour photos, 26 original line illustrations. (Source Accessed Sep 9, 2024)
Practicing the Path A Commentary on the Lamrim Chenmo-front.jpg
Books2003About this item
The Lamrim Chenmo, or Great Treatise on the Steps of the Path, by Je Tsongkhapa is a comprehensive overview of the process of individual enlightenment. Meditation on these steps has been a core practice of Tibetan Buddhists for centuries. The Lamrim Chenmo presents the Buddha’s teachings along a continuum of three spiritual attitudes: the person who worries about rebirth, the person who wants to escape rebirth, and finally the person who strives for buddhahood in order to relieve the suffering of all beings—this is the supreme aspiration of the bodhisattva.

This book is composed of teachings from Yangsi Rinpoche's commentary on Lama Tsongkhapa's Lamrin Chenmo given Feburary-April, 2000 at Tushita Meditation Center in Dharamsala, India.

(Source: Wisdom Publications)
2 Scholarship
Introduction to Emptiness 2008 edition-front.png
Books2008About this item
Readers are hard-pressed to find books that can help them understand the central concept in Mahayana Buddhism—the idea that ultimate reality is emptiness. In clear language, Introduction to Emptiness explains that emptiness is not a mystical sort of nothingness, but a specific truth that can and must be understood through calm and careful reflection. Newland's contemporary examples and vivid anecdotes will help readers understand this core concept as presented in one of the great classic texts of the Tibetan tradition, Tsong-kha-pa's Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment. This new edition includes quintessential points for each chapter. (Source: Shambhala Publications)
Jackson Roger LionsRoarjpg.jpg
Articles2019About this item
In this chapter Roger Jackson examines Tsongkhapa's treatment of the Bodhicaryāvatāra in his 1402 magnum opus, The Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Awakening.
1 Related
How to Meditate on the Stages of the Path (McDonald 2024)-front.jpg
Books2024About this item
Kathleen McDonald (Sangye Khadro), a Western nun with decades of experience, guides us through the next step in our meditation practice: the transformative meditations on the Tibetan Lamrim stages to enlightenment. She helps us see that the whole purpose of meditation is to transform our mind in a constructive way. For this to happen, we need to become so thoroughly familiar with the Lamrim topics that they become our natural way of thinking and living our life. (Source: Wisdom Publications)
8 A topic of
Calming the Mind and Discerning the Real-front.jpg
Books1978About this item
Lam rim Chen mo (roughly, "the great book on stages of the path to enlightenment") is the abbreviated title of a massive encyclopaedic manual written by Tson-kha-pa, the founder of the Gelukpa sect of Tibetan Buddhism. Calming the Mind and Discerning the Real marks the first appearance in English of the two most important segments of this work. (Source Accessed Oct 14, 2025)
How to Meditate on the Stages of the Path (McDonald 2024)-front.jpg
Books2024About this item
Kathleen McDonald (Sangye Khadro), a Western nun with decades of experience, guides us through the next step in our meditation practice: the transformative meditations on the Tibetan Lamrim stages to enlightenment. She helps us see that the whole purpose of meditation is to transform our mind in a constructive way. For this to happen, we need to become so thoroughly familiar with the Lamrim topics that they become our natural way of thinking and living our life. (Source: Wisdom Publications)
Introduction to Emptiness 2008 edition-front.png
Books2008About this item
Readers are hard-pressed to find books that can help them understand the central concept in Mahayana Buddhism—the idea that ultimate reality is emptiness. In clear language, Introduction to Emptiness explains that emptiness is not a mystical sort of nothingness, but a specific truth that can and must be understood through calm and careful reflection. Newland's contemporary examples and vivid anecdotes will help readers understand this core concept as presented in one of the great classic texts of the Tibetan tradition, Tsong-kha-pa's Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment. This new edition includes quintessential points for each chapter. (Source: Shambhala Publications)
Path to Enlightenment in Tibetan Buddhism-front.png
Books1993About this item
Enlightenment is the ultimate development of the potential of our mind, a state of peace and bliss that can be of great benefit to oneself and others.

Drawing from the sutras and great Buddhist classics, the Path to Enlightenment combines the intellectual rigour of Tibetan scholars with a clear and easy to understand presentation of the progressive stages of spiritual development. It covers the full breadth and depth of Tibetan Buddhist philosophy with clear explanations of how to put it into practice.

The Path to Enlightenment is an anthology of Geshe Acharya Thubten Loden’s teachings drawn primarily from Je Tsong Khapa's Great Exposition of the Stages of the Path and Phabongkha Rinpoche's Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand. It also includes a translation and explanation of the Mind Training in Seven Points by Geshe Chekawa and a complete presentation of the Bodhisattva vows.

The Path to Enlightenment includes full colour plates, 26 line drawings, a comprehensive English, Tibetan and Sanskrit glossary, a page numbered outline and an 82 page appendix of quotations.

“The book will go a long way towards making the essential instructions of Tibetan Buddhism accessible to a wider readership…” – His Holiness the Dalai Lama

Hardcover, 1097 pages, 4 colour photos, 26 original line illustrations. (Source Accessed Sep 9, 2024)
Steps on the Path to Enlightenment, Vol. 3-front.jpg
Books2008About this item
Geshe Lhundub Sopa's Steps on the Path to Enlightenment is a landmark commentary on what is perhaps the most elaborate and elegant Tibetan presentation of the Buddhist path, Tsongkhapa's monumental Lamrim Chenmo. In this third volume of five, readers are acquainted with the bodhisattva's path and the altruistic desire to make service to others the driving force of spiritual development.

It begins with an explanation of what distinguishes the Mahayana practitioner from other Buddhists and goes on to describe the nature of bodhichitta. Geshe Sopa then provides a detailed commentary on the two methods to develop this awakening attitude: the techniques of sevenfold cause-and-effect and exchanging self and other.

While bodhichitta's significance in Mahayana Buddhism is universally known, Geshe Sopa illustrates how bodhichitta can motivate a devoted practitioner toward complete enlightenment and how this is accomplished through the performance of the bodhisattva perfections. Whether engaged in a scholarly study or personal practice of the Lamrim Chenmo, Geshe Sopa's guiding voice leads readers to a deeper understanding and appreciation of the bodhisattva way. (Source: Wisdom Publications)
TheGreatTreatiseOnTheStagesOfThePathToEnlightenmentVolume1-front.jpg
Books2000About this item
The Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment (Tib. Lam rim chen mo) is one of the brightest jewels in the world’s treasury of sacred literature. The author, Tsong-kha-pa, completed it in 1402, and it soon became one of the most renowned works of spiritual practice and philosophy in the world of Tibetan Buddhism. Because it condenses all the exoteric sūtra scriptures into a meditation manual that is easy to understand, scholars and practitioners rely on its authoritative presentation as a gateway that leads to a full understanding of the Buddha’s teachings.

Tsong-kha-pa took great pains to base his insights on classical Indian Buddhist literature, illustrating his points with classical citations as well as with sayings of the masters of the earlier Kadampa tradition. In this way the text demonstrates clearly how Tibetan Buddhism carefully preserved and developed the Indian Buddhist traditions.

This first of three volumes covers all the practices that are prerequisite for developing the spirit of enlightenment (bodhicitta). (Source: Shambhala Publications)
TheGreatTreatiseOnTheStagesOfThePathToEnlightenmentVolume2-front.jpg
Books2000About this item
The Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment (Tib. Lam rim chen mo) is one of the brightest jewels in the world’s treasury of sacred literature. The author, Tsong-kha-pa, completed it in 1402, and it soon became one of the most renowned works of spiritual practice and philosophy in the world of Tibetan Buddhism. Because it condenses all the exoteric sūtra scriptures into a meditation manual that is easy to understand, scholars and practitioners rely on its authoritative presentation as a gateway that leads to a full understanding of the Buddha’s teachings.

Tsong-kha-pa took great pains to base his insights on classical Indian Buddhist literature, illustrating his points with classical citations as well as with sayings of the masters of the earlier Kadampa tradition. In this way the text demonstrates clearly how Tibetan Buddhism carefully preserved and developed the Indian Buddhist traditions.

This second of three volumes covers the deeds of the bodhisattvas, as well as how to train in the six perfections. (Source: Shambhala Publications)
TheGreatTreatiseOnTheStagesOfThePathToEnlightenmentVolume3-front.jpg
Books2000About this item
The Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment (Tib. Lam rim chen mo) is one of the brightest jewels in the world’s treasury of sacred literature. The author, Tsong-kha-pa, completed it in 1402, and it soon became one of the most renowned works of spiritual practice and philosophy in the world of Tibetan Buddhism. Because it condenses all the exoteric sūtra scriptures into a meditation manual that is easy to understand, scholars and practitioners rely on its authoritative presentation as a gateway that leads to a full understanding of the Buddha’s teachings.

Tsong-kha-pa took great pains to base his insights on classical Indian Buddhist literature, illustrating his points with classical citations as well as with sayings of the masters of the earlier Kadampa tradition. In this way the text demonstrates clearly how Tibetan Buddhism carefully preserved and developed the Indian Buddhist traditions.

This third and final volume contains a presentation of the two most important topics in the work: meditative serenity (śamatha) and supramundane insight into the nature of reality (vipaśyanā). (Source: Shambhala Publications)